Ten-year wildfire mapping using satellite imagery: the case study of Western Greece

Abstract

Wildfires are among the most common natural disasters, which occur mainly in extremely dry conditions (summer period) due to natural causes or human activities. They can potentially lead to permanent vegetation loss, soil erosion and consequently flooding and desertification, while they can also be particularly harmful to humans themselves. In recent years, a rapid increase in the number of fires has been observed, especially in areas such as Siberia, California, Australia as well as in regions with Mediterranean climate. In the current study, we mapped the burned areas in the northwestern Peloponnese for a ten-year period (2011-2021) using spaceborne remote sensing data. Specifically, we obtained Sentinel- 2 and Landsat data -provided free of charge to all users- covering the study area before and after wildfires. The identification and the subsequent mapping of the burnt areas was based on the calculation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as well as on the estimation of the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) index. Burnt areas arising from both missions were integrated into an ArcGIS environment in order to be measured and compared. The assessment of the results was carried out using burnt areas, acquired by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).